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'You don’t get conditions worse
than this. We are at the catastrophic level and clearly in those areas
leaving early is your safest option.'

Catastrophic threat level is the most severe rating applicable. For the first six days of 2013, the 'national area-average' temperature had been in the top 20 hottest days on record.

In Boomer Bay, a seaside town in southern Tasmania, Merle and Terry Klug watched the fire ‘come in all around’ and said they were fortunate to be alive.

A melted boat at the Boomer Bay jetty on the Tasman Peninsula after bushfires swept through the south east region over the weekend. Residents have been urged to seek refuge ahead of a renewed bushfire threat

Eleven-year-old Zac Palmer stands amidst the remains of his grandparents' home which was destroyed after bushfires swept through the region over the weekend at Boomer Bay on the Tasman Peninsula in Tasmania

Rural Fire Service (RFS) firefighters tackle a grass fire just outside of Gunning in New South Wales as more than 100 fires are still reported to be burning

‘We couldn't go anywhere,’ Mrs Klug told
ABC Radio. 'The heat was horrendous. It's a wonder everything didn't go
up.’ She added that the fire came ‘over the hill like a bullet,
cracking in the air’.

The Australian Met Bureau weather forecast map had its temperature range extended to 54 degrees – well above the all-time record temperature of 50.7°C reached on January 2, 1960 at Oodnadatta Airport in South Australia.

Already the forecast outlook has started to deploy the two new shades of purple that represent plus-50°C.

'The scale has just been increased and I would anticipate it is because the forecast coming from the bureau's model is showing temperatures in excess of 50°C,' David Jones, head of the bureau's climate monitoring and prediction unit, said.

VIDEO Residents told to remain vigilant as wildfires spread

Map of Tasmania locating recent and current areas with wildfires as the region grips itself for the worst fires on record

Even as the sun sets, a large number of swimmers can still be seen cooling off in the sea at Bondi Beach

Large crowds early evening at Bondi Cafe where temperatures reached 42.5°C in Sydney. Even at 8pm temperatures on the beach were above 32°C

It was the first time that average
national top temperatures over 39C had been recorded on five consecutive
days, the bureau said.

Wildfires have razed 50,000 acres (20,000
hectares) of forests and farmland across southern Tasmania since
Friday.

In New South Wales, the country’s most populous state, the fires
had burned through more than 64,000 (26,000 hectares) of land.

No deaths had been reported, although
officials in Tasmania were still trying to find around 100 residents who
have been missing since a blaze tore through the small town of
Dunalley, east of the state capital of Hobart, last week, destroying
around 90 homes.

Bondi Beach basks in extreme heat as sun worshippers look to cool off

Crowds cooling off at Bondi Beach as record high temperatures grip Australia

This picture taken from Lake Conjola shows bathers looking on as smoke billows from a bushfire at Deans Gap in New South Wales

Some 120 holidaymakers and staff were evacuated from the Kings Canyon Resort in central Australia as a fire in the Wartarrka National Park had begun to damage its property.

People were evacuated from there to Mereenie Oil Fields,and more from the nearby Aboriginal community of Lilla, police said.

Smoke billowing as a bushfire burns near Green Point in New South Wales

Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard visits the remains of the Dunalley Primary School in Dunalley yesterday

Ambulance crews were also called out
to several of the city’s landmark destinations such as the famous Opera
House where elderly visitors had collapsed in the extreme heat.

Broken Hill, 700 miles west of Sydney where the Mad Max films were made, hit 44 degrees C.Flames
across the three states were whipped up by 105km/h winds, enabling the
bush fires to move at a terrifying 7sq/m every second.

On Wednesday record temperatures across southern Australia cooled but the extreme heat has shifted to northern and central Australia.

The national capital, Canberra, dropped from a high of 36C to 28C and Sydney dropped from 43C to 23C.

Wildfire smoke can be seen rising from hills behind the village of Numeralla in New South Wales state

Three teens were arrested in Sydeny's west on Tuesday afternoon on suspicion of deliberately starting a blaze, which firefighters managed to put out.

On
Tuesday night, residents of the popular tourist spot Sussex Inlet, 120
miles south of Sydney, was issued with a warning after fires began
threatening property there.

During the day, two homes destroyed at Chepstowe, Victoria, where two people were also injured.

Also in Victoria, the historic Carngham Train Station was burnt to the ground.

Fire fighters battle a grass fire in Oura, near Wagga Wagga in New South Wales

One fire was threatening about 30 homes near the
small town of Cooma, south of the capital of Canberra. Cooma-Monaro
shire mayor Dean Lynch told Australia’s Sky News that some residents had
been evacuated to the nearby town of Nimmitabel.

Strong winds were hampering efforts to
bring the fires under control. Wind gusts more than 62mph (100kph) were
recorded in some parts of the state.

All state forests and national parks
were closed as a precaution and total fire bans were in place with
temperatures in excess of 45°C (113F) in some areas.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said residents had to stay alert.

'The word catastrophic is being used for good reason,' she said.

'So it is very important that people keep themselves safe, that they listen to local authorities and local warnings.

A sky crane water bombing helicopter flies through thick smoke over the town of Wandandian south of Nowra

A kangaroo hops through a burnt out paddock after a grassfire in Sunbury north of Melbourne, Victoria

'This is a very dangerous day.'

One volunteer firefighter suffered
severe burns to his hands and face while tackling a grass blaze near
Gundaroo village, about 138 miles (220km) south-west of Sydney,
yesterday. He was flown to a hospital in Sydney for treatment.

Fire chief Mr Fitzsimmons said the
firefighter’s condition had improved, and he was expected to be released
from hospital in the next few days.

Wildfires are common during the
Australian summer. In February 2009, hundreds of fires across Victoria
state killed 173 people and destroyed more than 2,000 homes.